Okay I know that we all practice shooting offhand, one handed and in weird positions to practice for if we ever have to actually shoot when injured. I just seriously doubt that any of us realize how difficult that actually is, or how much being injured will affect our aim.

I had to requalify on the M-16 this week, and unfortunately I had to shoot while injured. (I had blown out my knees two years ago while in training, and last weekend I had reinjured one while sparring in my kenpo class.) I was able to grunt through the pain during zeroing and the practice, however, by the time we qualified I could barely keep my weapon on target (I scored a measely 30 out of 50. Considering I've scored expert before and all of my zeroing groups were 1.5" or smaller that was horrible.) Granted we're talking a long time period (over ninety minutes, we had a lot of problems with the PA system, our gas masks, and a small fire on the range) and I wasn't really keyed up so there was no adrenaline to help mask the pain. I was just curious if anyone has any simliar/real life experiences or any thoughts on the matter.

A1C Lickey

September 16th, 2005, 11:45 PM

rocky

I have been shooting with a headache, colds ect. Some aches and pains and once with my hand bandaged. It does make accuracy more difficult. Most like ly, in a high stress situation , you will not notice the discomfort. I know , when in fights I don't notice punches till afterwards.

September 17th, 2005, 12:24 AM

P95Carry

My problems are mostly age related.... not disability per se but factors which can ruin a nice day!

I have recurrent ankle problems which can make running sometimes out of the question. I have a back which is chronic and limiting. I also have a partial palsy in left arm which means weak hand shooting is all but impossible unless I brace that arm with strong!

I usually when feeling innovative try shooting from many wierd positions and with perseverance manage to usually do OK. So overall I reckon I can still give a good account of myself.

I have taught two wheelchair guys for pistol useage, concealment and tactics - most of that is again being imaginative and getting them to exploit their strengths - which is what we all must do if not 100% in some way or other.

September 17th, 2005, 12:35 AM

FortyFive

Shooting not disabled but feeling the effects of muscle spasm or some body problem starting. Example my right hand was shaking so bad I had to stop shooting and get my friend to unload my gun. I have spasms pretty bad in my rib cage and need help. After a few of these things happening I had to quit shooting more or less. At one point not long ago I had trouble getting the slide back on my .45. I am hoping to climb out of this mess and maybe get shooting in a few months. It happens to us all I guess but it does make you think about life a little.

September 17th, 2005, 02:44 AM

tanksoldier

I had been in Colorado for about 3 weeks and really hadn't gotten used to the weather changes. It had been cold in the morings but warmed up nicely every day. We were scheduled to go to the M16 range for deployment qualification, and the high had been 80 degrees the day before. The next day, the day we went to the range, the high officially reached 26 degrees. 80 degrees to 26 degrees in a span of 24 hours. I and everyone else was in straight BDUs, no snivel gear, not even gloves.

I was shaking so hard I couldn't even keep the front sight visible thru the rear sight half the time. I scored my worst ever qual, 26/40. My worst prior to that was 38/40.

I really felt sorry for the guys who no-go'ed two, three, even four times. I only spend a few hours out there, some of them spent all day. Thank God they cancelled the night-fire.

September 17th, 2005, 07:21 AM

Team American

2 years ago I shot my first John C. Garand match the weekend after taking a nasty fall off of a galloping horse. Shooting from the prone position with a cracked rib was memorable! Managed a score of 232 out of a possible 300...I've done a lot better since :smile:

September 17th, 2005, 01:33 PM

Gary Brommeland

Hey Guys!
I tend a bit toward hypoglycemia (did I spell that correctly?). When my blood sugar crashes, I'm pretty much worthless.
Every now and then, as a training exercise, I'll eat a few glazed donuts and a really sweet cup of coffee. In about two hours, my blood sugar drops dramatically, and I (literally) feel like I'm dying.
THEN I'll hit the range and do a few speed drills, mag changes and malf drills. It is amazing how badly I truly suck under such conditions, but it gives me the opportunity to fine tune the only weapon that any of us truly has - the one between our ears. It really challenges one's self discipline. I would recommend this technique to anyone that really wants to see how they can perform under stress. (It closely mimics tachy-psychia - the adrenaline induced state experienced in real combat).
If the drop in blood sugar alone is not enough to make you feel crappy enough, add a few dozen push-ups to the mix. Then you'll see how well you can shoot when your arms feel like lead and you are shaking like a leaf.
Try it - I guarantee that you won't like it, but you may well find that it makes you a better defensive shooter. Good luck!

September 17th, 2005, 06:41 PM

tanksoldier

I'm diabetic. I'd be very careful with that sugar-crash thing. It is entirely possible to kill yourself doing that.

September 17th, 2005, 08:43 PM

Gary Brommeland

Quote:

Originally Posted by tanksoldier

I'm diabetic. I'd be very careful with that sugar-crash thing. It is entirely possible to kill yourself doing that.

Thanks for the input - I had not considered this from a diabetic perspective. Absolutely do not try this if you are diabetic. Tanksoldier is correct - it could kill you.

As for myself, I am not diabetic - merely a bit hypoglycemic and it only makes me feel like I'm dying.

September 17th, 2005, 11:37 PM

BlueLion

Quote:

Originally Posted by A1C Lickey

Okay I know that we all practice shooting offhand, one handed and in weird positions to practice for if we ever have to actually shoot when injured. I just seriously doubt that any of us realize how difficult that actually is, or how much being injured will affect our aim.

I had to requalify on the M-16 this week, and unfortunately I had to shoot while injured. (I had blown out my knees two years ago while in training, and last weekend I had reinjured one while sparring in my kenpo class.) I was able to grunt through the pain during zeroing and the practice, however, by the time we qualified I could barely keep my weapon on target (I scored a measely 30 out of 50. Considering I've scored expert before and all of my zeroing groups were 1.5" or smaller that was horrible.) Granted we're talking a long time period (over ninety minutes, we had a lot of problems with the PA system, our gas masks, and a small fire on the range) and I wasn't really keyed up so there was no adrenaline to help mask the pain. I was just curious if anyone has any simliar/real life experiences or any thoughts on the matter.

A1C Lickey

From one Airmen to another two things. One, not trying thrash you or anything, but if your knees are that bad why are you not on profile. Secondly, if you are on profile you are not qualifying in anything. Thirdly, if you have bad knees why are you in kenpo class. I spent most of my time doing fun stuff and I am telling you be careful get to the doc because any Disabled Veteran will tell you when you are done doing your time they forget about you.

Be safe and get a copy of your med records. Secondly, keep everything you get from med group. I am member of DAV and we fight for disabled veterans, so be safe. Thank you for the job you do.

" And to all my special soldiers whats done in the dark stays in the dark" :cool:

September 18th, 2005, 11:29 AM

gunthorp

Don't have time to post all my disabilities. They say you can't fall in love when you've got a toothache. I believe our defense systems will block out most of our pain and trembling when we're called to arms, but Gary's right, we need to train with some worst case scenarios. A long time ago I taught Tai Chi and Yoga and found that by controlling breathing, the rest of the body formed in line. That still leaves problems like impaired vision, the strong side being blocked or shot up, and the burden of protecting companions or fallen comrades.

September 18th, 2005, 02:33 PM

LPguy

Quote:

I know , when in fights I don't notice punches till afterwards.

Rocky is quite right. I've even hit many times and even been cut once during a fight and didn't notice until it was all over. A cop had to say "Hey! you're bleeding!" There was blood dripping down my arm and I hadn't noticed a thing.

Mike

September 22nd, 2005, 04:00 AM

A1C Lickey

Blue Lion
Don't worry about it, no insult taken. I was on profile for a little over a year, I got off when they started talking about assigning me a C code. That was also the same time when they were talking about denying re-enlistment to anyone with a C code. And they will let you qualify while you're on profile now. Last year I was accepted into the READY program which did require me to requalify on the M-16.
I'm in kenpo because I felt I needed the extra discipline and I wanted to be able to protect myself and others better. My knees normally aren't that bad, I have to be careful, but they aren't that bad. It was more of what happened that weekend that was giving me problems at the range.
I appreciate the advice, and I have been keeping copies of everything. (I've already learned the hard way that they like to lose stuff.) Thanks.

A1C Lickey

September 22nd, 2005, 04:04 AM

srfl

A1C Lickey....good luck there with your knees!

September 25th, 2005, 08:07 PM

BlueLion

Hey Lickey, good show brother. I miss the Force sometimes as will any veteran when he officially gets his DD214. I have or never will meet a better group of people than those who serve and continue by taking my place on the wall as my family and I sleep at night. Bless you guys.. :cool: